In the previous two messages we have considered the ingredients of the compound Spirit and the anointing of the compound Spirit. The ingredients of the Spirit include the unique God, the Triune God, the humanity of Jesus, the precious death of Christ, the sweetness and effectiveness of Christ’s death, the precious resurrection of Christ, the power of Christ’s resurrection, the mingling of divinity with humanity, the power for responsibility, and the building element. We have seen that the anointing of the compound Spirit is to anoint the believers with the Father and the Son, conveyed in the anointing Spirit, and to anoint the believers with the eternal life conveyed in this Spirit. The anointing of the compound Spirit is also to inoculate the believers against the heretical teachings concerning the Person of Christ. Furthermore, the believers may abide in the Lord according to the teaching of the anointing that abides in us. In this message we shall consider further the anointing of the Spirit as revealed in 1 John 2:18-27. We shall consider this portion, of course, in the light of the type of the compounded ointment in Exodus 30:23-30.
First John 2:22 says, “Who is the liar if not he who is denying that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who is denying the Father and the Son.” This verse was written according to the background of John’s first Epistle. If we do not know anything about this background, we shall not be able to understand this verse adequately. Those who denied that Jesus is the Christ separated Jesus from Christ, making them two persons. Hence, to say that Jesus is not Christ is to divide Jesus from Christ, as if Jesus and Christ were different persons. The existence of such heretical teaching was part of the background of John’s word in verse 22 regarding those who denied that Jesus is the Christ. The truth is that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus and Christ are one. It is heresy to say that Jesus is not the Christ.
Verse 22 does not say that the antichrist denies Jesus andChrist. First, this verse says that the antichrist denies that Jesus is Christ. Then the verse goes on to say that antichrist denies the Father and the Son. This indicates that Jesus Christ, the Father, and the Son are all one.
A serious problem in theology related to the Person of Christ and the Trinity is caused by those who try to divide the Father from the Son, and the Son from the Spirit. This is to attempt to systematize Jesus Christ and the Triune God. It is wrong to try to separate Jesus Christ, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. It is also wrong to try to systematize the Trinity. Actually, we cannot divide Jesus Christ, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, because They all are one.
Some Bible teachers try to separate the Father from the Son, and the Son from the Spirit. These teachers deny that the Son is the Father and also that the Son is the Spirit. As a result of their attempt to separate the Father from the Son, and the Son from the Spirit, they have three Gods.
Just as we cannot divide the Father, Son, and Spirit, we cannot divide Christ’s divinity from His humanity. There is no way to divide Christ’s divinity from His humanity. Trying to divide Christ’s divinity and humanity can be compared to dividing a person’s body from his soul, and his body and soul from his spirit to make three separate, distinct entities. Anyone who could be divided in this way would no longer be a whole person. This is an illustration of the seriousness of the mistake of trying to divide and separate the Father from the Son, and the Son from the Spirit. That attempt results in the heresy of tritheism, the belief that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three Gods.
In verse 23 John goes on to say, “Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who confesses the Son has the Father also.” Does this not indicate that the Father and the Son are one? According to this verse, if we deny the Son, we do not have the Father, but if we confess the Son, we have the Father.
Verses 22 and 23 indicate that Jesus Christ, the Father, and the Son are all one. They cannot be separated. The error of heretical teachings concerning both Christology and the Trinity has been to divide, to separate, the Son from the Father, and the Spirit from the Son. But especially in these verses, the Bible puts the Father and the Son together as a compound. It is the work of antichrist to divide the Father from the Son.